Can you believe that it's 1 year since Will was born? Amazing - but true. Today (20th May) was Will's first birthday. Given the amazing gift Will has been to us, we decided that this year we'd go all out with a huge celebration - thanking God for all he's done, and thanking our many friends for being there by our side.
We opened the morning with the customary present openings. Here's a few photo's of Will opening presents.
Here's mum with Will, opening one of the many cards he received. Smiles all round (although at 5am when will woke up - the smiles were not quite as bright!).
Here's Will doing his best to take it all in. Obviously the whole present thing was quite new to him, and it took a while to get him into it. Ripping the paper was fun (as was subsequently eating the paper), but spending any time looking at the presents was a challenge (partly because he's not quite up to that, and partly because big brother and sister were eager to look!).
Cleo very much enjoyed opening Will's presents. We managed to get Will a turn on his new bike. I expect that next year, the older kid's won't have quite so much luck opening Will's presents - he'll have worked it all out by then.
We then moved on to church where we were having Will dedicated. Here's the family all dressed up in the Sunday best.
Jack, Cleo and Will.
The Boys.
Into Church to have Will dedicated. Our opporunity to publicly commit to raising Will to know the saving grace of Jesus Christ, and to publicly (in front of the Church community) express our thanks for what God has done for us in bringing Will into our lives.
After Church we hosted a party at the Hong Kong Cricket club. Great venue, great food. We had around 60 adults and about the same number of kids for brunch. It might seem a little over the top for a kid's 1 year old party (ok perhaps a lot over the top), however, we wanted to take this opportunity to thank God and to thank all of our friends from the various communities we mix in (Church, Work, Cricket, School, etc.). Here's the most formal part of the morning - giving a short speach prior to cutting the cake.
For those of you somewhat amazed by the cake. Here's a close up. Jules spent a couple of days putting this together. It had to be huge to ensure everyone got a piece - so the train and carriage seemed like a good idea. Went down a treat.
Here's Will hanging out with his mates. These guys were a tad small to spend much time on the jumping castle - so sitting back and surveying wasn't a bad option.
Finally, talking about Will's first birthday wouldn't be complete without mentioning his Godparents. Again we've gone to excess in this regard - but with good reason. We decided to ask pretty much all the couples who came and supported us day in and day out at the hostpital 1 year ago, and who met Will before Julie did (even if it was only a fleeting glance), to be Will's God parents. Here they all are with Will.
The Sutherlands (who - by the way are also to blame for our involvement in ICM).
The Millers - double up with these guys, as Tobin got to do the dedication also.
And last but not least - the Chengs. Great family friends - and parents of Jack's best friend in HK - JJ.
So their it is. Will is one. God is good.
The Turners.
Here's mum with Will, opening one of the many cards he received. Smiles all round (although at 5am when will woke up - the smiles were not quite as bright!).
Here's Will doing his best to take it all in. Obviously the whole present thing was quite new to him, and it took a while to get him into it. Ripping the paper was fun (as was subsequently eating the paper), but spending any time looking at the presents was a challenge (partly because he's not quite up to that, and partly because big brother and sister were eager to look!).
Cleo very much enjoyed opening Will's presents. We managed to get Will a turn on his new bike. I expect that next year, the older kid's won't have quite so much luck opening Will's presents - he'll have worked it all out by then.
We then moved on to church where we were having Will dedicated. Here's the family all dressed up in the Sunday best.
Jack, Cleo and Will.
The Boys.
Into Church to have Will dedicated. Our opporunity to publicly commit to raising Will to know the saving grace of Jesus Christ, and to publicly (in front of the Church community) express our thanks for what God has done for us in bringing Will into our lives.
After Church we hosted a party at the Hong Kong Cricket club. Great venue, great food. We had around 60 adults and about the same number of kids for brunch. It might seem a little over the top for a kid's 1 year old party (ok perhaps a lot over the top), however, we wanted to take this opportunity to thank God and to thank all of our friends from the various communities we mix in (Church, Work, Cricket, School, etc.). Here's the most formal part of the morning - giving a short speach prior to cutting the cake.
For those of you somewhat amazed by the cake. Here's a close up. Jules spent a couple of days putting this together. It had to be huge to ensure everyone got a piece - so the train and carriage seemed like a good idea. Went down a treat.
Here's Will hanging out with his mates. These guys were a tad small to spend much time on the jumping castle - so sitting back and surveying wasn't a bad option.
Finally, talking about Will's first birthday wouldn't be complete without mentioning his Godparents. Again we've gone to excess in this regard - but with good reason. We decided to ask pretty much all the couples who came and supported us day in and day out at the hostpital 1 year ago, and who met Will before Julie did (even if it was only a fleeting glance), to be Will's God parents. Here they all are with Will.
The Sutherlands (who - by the way are also to blame for our involvement in ICM).
The Millers - double up with these guys, as Tobin got to do the dedication also.
And last but not least - the Chengs. Great family friends - and parents of Jack's best friend in HK - JJ.
So their it is. Will is one. God is good.
The Turners.
